One wonderful Dalmatian.
Daisy, a headstrong Dalmatian, refuses to do her chores and eat her broccoli–only to learn that daily work plus helpings of veggies is the means to her dreams.
With colorful, whimsical illustrations, Lee introduces a young dog Daisy, who declares “No, Never!” whenever she’s faced with the not-so-fun aspects of life. Whether it’s doing homework or dishes, taking a bath or taking out the trash, cleaning or eating greens, the delightfully spotted pooch always protests. While many parents might take a hard line with such a stubborn daughter, Daisy’s loving mom goes the patient road, asking what exactly Daisy might like to do instead. This pup thinks big indeed, offering up such alternatives as writing the best book of all time and winning the “Tour-de-Daisy” (page bicycle tournament. This is all fine and good, but Daisy’s mom sagely points out that she must “take care of the goals that are important now in order to learn how to take care of the goals that are important later.” This spurs Daisy to start viewing such necessities as bathing and munching carrots in a positive light–and to change her belligerent behavior. The book contains a strong moral tale without any clichés and engaging pictures that are worth 1,000 words and then some. While the writing can be a bit wordy and are sometimes outshined by the illustrations, this is a minor complaint. Much modern-day kids’ fare preaches rather than listens. Just the fact that the pup’s mom inquires about Daisy’s goals and listens to the response–rather than merely telling her to be quiet and obey orders–is cause for celebration. This is how children become adults who write great books–by having parents who encourage them to question and think for themselves.
One wonderful Dalmatian.Pub Date: June 9, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4392-3908-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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